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Basketball

Of the four Halls of Fame comprising the “Big Four” of the North American sports, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame is the one that is the hardest for many casual fans to figure out.

Established in 1959, though there was no physical building for a decade, the Basketball Hall of Fame would take root in Springfield, Massachusetts. While the popularity of Basketball has skyrocketed over the past 20 years, the Hall of Fame has not grown nearly at the same pace.Why is that?

It is because the very thing that was designed to make it special is what makes it convoluted.

The Baseball Hall of Fame, with the primary exception of the Negro Leagues, focuses only on those who participated in Major League Baseball.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame only looks at the National Football League.

The Hockey Hall of Fame doe look at International contributions but with the exception of two players who played their career in the Soviet Red Army, all players had at one time plied their trade in the National Hockey League.

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame looks at everything. This includes College, International, Women and in some cases High School.

Every year, there are finalists where even the most devote basketball fans are trying to figure out who those people are, and when that happens, the cache value of the Hall naturally shrinks.

For our purposes, we will only look at those who were in the National Basketball Association as let’s face it…that is what most of us care about the most!

For years when you thought of Soviet born basketball players they were faceless drones, but that would change with the likable (and Ivan Drago lookalike), Andrei Kirilenko who would become a star with the Utah Jazz.

How many other players can say they are one of the top 50 all time scorers as well as top 25 all time in assists. And how many of these are shooting guards? Well the answer would be two. Jerry West is one of them. Yes, that Jerry West, the image behind the NBA emblem for the last 30 years. And the other guy? Well that would be none other than one Reggie Theus. I…

Larry Kenon is one of the least appreciated players ever. A great big man who led Memphis to the title game in his only year there, Kenon won an ABA title with Dr. J and the Nets in his first year in the ABA. He was a three time All-Star in the ABA but his legacy is as one of the greatest players who made the transition to the NBA. Kenon continued his solid play…

A very good player, who had the misfortune of playing for some awful teams, Shareef Abdur-Rahim would five times hit the 20 points per game average, and would have a career PER of 19.0. Overall, he proved to be a very good Basketball player who had a lot more points than you may realize; though perhaps it is because you don’t remember any of them!

Ron Harper was a great basketball player who knew what it took to win. The greatest player ever to come from the Miami of Ohio, Harper was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers and was the perfect complimentary player on some sensational professional teams. Unlike most complimentary players, Harper was once a superstar. He averaged 24 points and 11 rebounds in his collegiate career and was second in Rookie of the Year voting. Injuries cut back…

The unfortunate mid career trade for Byron Scott that took Norm Nixon from the Lakers to the Clippers may have extremely hurt his chances of getting in the Hall. The Lakers did not need another point guard with Magic Johnson around though they did peacefully coexist through two titles together. Nixon is number ten all time in assists per game even though he shared the ball with Magic for a few years. He was also…

“Butterbean” Bob Love has one of the coolest names ever and for sure one of the coolest nicknames. Oh and did we mention that he was a pretty good forward too? Teaming with Chet Walker for the Bulls in the 70s, this forward combo may have been one of the best ever. Love was a great scorer who could really get to the hoop; and if you played under Dick Motta as he did, then…

Johnny “Red” Kerr was the original big red head will always have a place in basketball history. Kerr had a very solid career as a player, a coach and finally as a legendary announcer kept him in the NBA spotlight for over 55 years. However, it is his playing career that will determine if he belongs in the Hall of Fame or not. Kerr was a vital part of the Syracuse Nationals which became the…

It was easy to forget just how good Jermaine O’Neal was. Seemingly always in someone’s shadow, O’Neal quietly went to six consecutive All-Star Games as a member of the Indiana Pacers. Drafted right out of high school by Portland, O’Neal’s best run was certainly in Indiana where he was known for his blocking and would generate four consecutive twenty Points per Game campaigns.

Rudy Larusso came from Dartmouth and would become a standout in the NBA averaging seventeen points and ten rebounds a game in ten stellar seasons. A five time All-Star, Larusso was one of the best defensive power forwards of his generation. Like many on this list, he is another forgotten great of the 1960’s.

Mark Jackson may very well be the Dennis Rodman of assists; and Rodman got in to the Hall being a great rebounder. At number three all time on the assist list behind Stockton and Kidd it seems like Jackson some serious consideration by now; of course his reputation as being one dimensional player does not help. He was too slow, couldn't shoot and never won. You would think that being able to run a team…

Despite having the nickname of “Stevie Franchise”, Steve Francis never led his team in College or the Pros to a Championship. It was not that he wasn’t good, as the Point Guard was a three time All-Star who put up decent statistics through his tenure, but he was more known for showcasing his athletics dunks and speed, than his overall game. He was a good scorer, but a little too turnover prone and for a…

Terry Porter is one of the best NBA players ever to come from a Division II school. He was so highly regarded form tiny Wisconsin-Stevens Point that he was invited to the 1984 Olympic trials where he almost made the team; but was in the final cut with Charles Barkley and John Stockton. A solid career followed for Porter in the NBA primarily with the Portland Trail Blazers where he teamed with Clyde Drexler to…

The fourth overall draft pick from the 1998 Draft, Antawn Jamison would have a great career as a scorer in the National Basketball Association after having a huge run as a North Carolina Tar Heel where he was the Naismith College Player of the Year.

Bob Boozer was an unsung and almost forgotten forward who was a two time All-American at Kansas State and a key member of the Milwaukee Bucks championship team run in 1971. Fifteen points a game with eight boards are not incredible but they are solid numbers and his long career should help. He also sat out the 1959 season playing AAU basketball over the NBA so he could still be eligible for the 60 Olympic…

Christian Laettner is one of the best 10 college players ever leading the mighty Duke Blue Devils to two NCAA championships in a row. He played the greatest game ever and hit the biggest shot in college basketball history. He was the only college member of the Dream Team. So why is he so low? Well, he did not have the most stellar pro career and is thought of as being soft and was the not…

Simply put how in the heck did Rod Strickland never make an All-Star Game? He is easily one of the best ten point guards in league history. Strickland is in the top ten for all time assists and 54th all time in games played. 14,000 points and almost 8,000 assists are pretty good career numbers. Sure he bounced around a lot playing with a total of ten teams in his career but that just shows…

One of the great shooters of all time, Austin Carr’s college run overshadows a very good pro career that was lost in the obscurity of playing in Cleveland. However, shouldn’t the all time NCAA tournament scoring average leader be considered? He scored sixty-one once in an NCAA tourney game, showcasing his legendary shooting. Considering all the nonsense the Cavs have had to deal with recently, Carr, who is Mr. Cavalier, would give the city a…

Sidney Wicks was the UCLA big man who led the Bruins to numerous NCAA titles and was selected College Player of the Year. He would be drafted by the Blazers and would become the centerpiece of the franchise. Later went to Boston where he was a solid contributor. No it’s not Bill Walton; it’s the forgotten star of the UCLA dynasty, Sidney Wicks. Wicks is one of those great 70s players that time has seemingly…

A longtime member of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Zydrunas Ilgauskas brought his tall frame from Lithuania and became one of the top offensive rebounders in the league. He was also adept at blocking and at his prime pumped in a 15 point plus average and was often considered the top part of LeBron James’ supporting cast. The Lithuanian likely won’t make the Hall of Fame, but had Cleveland won the Finals, would he be in the…